BILSTEIN 5100 FRONT SHOCK INSTALL, OEM TOP WASHER DID NOT FIT OVER POST.

no there is a metal collar on in the boot that is about 3/8'ths of an inch thick.

The boots dont just pop off, but something is wrong i can see the boot lower on the shaft and the shaft exposed. You need to pull everything back apart.

 

I’m not sure if all the new washers/bushings come with the 5100s. Last pic shows where one of the rubber bushings goes. Did yours have this?


You need the lower bushing installed under the top hat if yours is missing.

 

Yes, its a washer, then that, which seems to be apart of the hat, all of that is there.

 

That metal collar on top of the boots were there on the install, ive read that they are common to pop off on this website. This week ill be posting another pic of that lip at the top threads.

 

Your boot should be sitting up higher on the lip so it might be missing the 3/8 collar.

 

Collar was 100% there in the boots. That lip that you have circled though, there is a lip just like that at the end of the top threads on mine, which is what I was originally posting about here in the first place. I ordered new bushings and washers and will post a pic of that lip this comming week..I dont know if i got a generic set or an old set cause I got them through autozone since I got a discount and lifetime warranty through em. I hit them back about this in hopes to get another set to check out and they cant get em now lol

 

That lip at the top is just a result of the machining to leave that tab at the top to be able to hold the shock while you tighten the nut. In your first picture, you can clearly see your boot is way down the shock when it should be resting on the lip I circled. So there is something wrong there. Is it the same way on both sides of your truck? Check the part numbers near the bottom of the shock to make sure they sent you the right parts.

 

Yes I understand that, I know that is what the top is for. Below that, below the tread, there is a lip though, like the on you circled, except right at the end of the thread. You can’t see it in the pic because of the washers and bushing. The top washer compressing the bushing had to be drilled out to fit over this lip I’m talkin about, then I added the other two washers to compress that bushing more. Youll see when I post the pic of it. And yes it is the same on both sides, both boots have came off.

 

I have new 5100s, new top hats, new bushings, washers and nuts. My 5100s have a very slight step where you mention. I'm not sure if the washers came with the 5100s or with the KYB tophats, but both washers slide completely over that step next to the threads.

 

Yes, so I got the 5100s because they are supposed to fit all OEM components, and they just came with the top nut, that's it.

 

Okay fellas, got the pics. I also wana say thank you to all of you for the help and input.

First here's a pic of whats under the top hat...the collar from the boot is there, a long with the retaining cushion.

 

And here is the damned lip that has been driving me nuts...I can't find any pics anywhere that have this, all of them are even from the thread to the post. This is why i couldn't get that bushing to compress. And also why I had to drill out my top washer and add the 2 other washers.

 

Your first pic looks like it shows the lip on the shock shaft, then a washer, then rubber bushing...The "collar" were talking about doesn't seem to be there or maybe I can't tell from the pic. The second pic should just be a rubber bushing, washer and nut. No idea what that thing the arrow is pointing to. Does that come off or is it part of the shaft? If so, you may have gotten a wrong part.
Just what I see. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I will come in to help.

Edit: Looking at the first pic more, the washer should be bigger, like the diameter of the bushing so if what I thought was the washer before is actually the "collar" that holds the shock boot, then I think our bushing has compressed over it which is why we can only see a small part of it. There should have been another metal larger washer between the two. That would explain the gap you have also. By putting the washer there it would elevate your bottom bushing the height of that "collar" and close your gap.

 

Check the part number near the bottom of your shock to make sure you have the right shocks. That upper lip doesn't look right and it looks like you're missing the retainer that goes under the bushing but above the boot/collar. That is probably allowing the bushing to wrap around the collar instead of compressing against the retainer.

 

What I said but in a more condensed and to the point version. But I agree non the less. Post up the part number at the bottom of the shock.

 

Hard to tell everything that's going on there, but easy to see a few things that are going on. There's no lower washer. That allows the collar to go up into the lower rubber bushing that is part of the top hat, which pushes the plastic boot off of the collar.

What ever that yellow arrow is pointing to, I don't think it's part of the shock shaft.

 

I have no problems with a gap, my issue is the lip at the end of threads in the second pic, I took the washer and nut off to show the pic...that lip was blocking my washer from compressing the bushing, so I drilled out the washer and added 2 others to compress it..( in the pic at the beginning of this thread)

 

I pulled up the OEM catalog with toyota and they only show a "retaining cushion" under the hat...only washer it shows in that catalog is the top washer under the top nut.

 

The bottom of that thread is the shaft though. That's what I was posting about from the start..that lip was stopping my washer from compressing the bushing, so I drilled out that washer and added the other two..and to the bottom washer under the hat, all it shows in the Toyota catalog with my vin is a "retaining cushion" which is there on top of that metal collar for the boots. I'm gona check the numbers on the shock.

 

"Cushion retainer" is Toyota's verbage for a washer. Your's is missing. Take that sucker apart.